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JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 14, 2021

Japan bars entry for new arrivals and business travelers due to new COVID-19 strains

Authorities will name and shame returnees who breach quarantine restriction, and rescind the residency status of foreign nationals if they fail to adhere to controls.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 14, 2021

Architect of U.S. pivot picked to be Biden's 'Asia czar'

The appointment of former Obama administration official Kurt Campbell will 'supercharge' Biden's standing in Asia, experts said.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2021

Japan to halt all business travel in new step to curb COVID-19

The government will temporarily suspend the arrangement with 11 Asian countries and regions from Thursday, effectively banning the entry of all nonresident foreign travelers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 13, 2021

North Korea's Kim vows stronger 'nuclear war deterrent' as party congress ends

Kim wrapped up the congress on Tuesday by noting the importance of nuclear weapons and a strong military in the face of what it calls a “hostile policy” by the U.S.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 13, 2021

Sumo stables deserve more scrutiny after wrestler's shock retirement

The decision by Kotokantetsu to leave the sport rather than risk infection with the coronavirus at the New Year Basho has resulted in a wave of outrage against the Japan Sumo Association.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 13, 2021

With hospitals nearly overwhelmed, U.K. faces harder days ahead

All pubs, restaurants and retail stores are already closed, school reopenings have been delayed, and public gatherings are forbidden.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 12, 2021

J. League, NPB meet with task force medical panel to discuss plans for spring camps

Some J. League teams are set to begin their training camps later this month while NPB camps are scheduled to start Feb. 1.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2021

Can Japan raise its teleworking game under the second COVID-19 emergency?

A slew of smaller firms are still somewhat hesitant to promoting such working styles, saying they don't have enough funds to buy new equipment or that it reduces work efficiency.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 12, 2021

Does Trump face legal jeopardy for his incendiary speech before the riot?

If a grand jury were to be persuaded that Trump intentionally incited his followers to violence, several statutes could come into play.
Protesters from the Socialista National Confederation of Labor, angered by China's actions in the South China Sea, hold a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in Makati City, Metro Manila, in June 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2025

Beijing's peace message on South China Sea contradicts its actions

The four principles articulated in a recent Chinese paper are propaganda and concocted realities of communist thinking.
The Liberal Democratic Party’s pledges ahead of the Upper House election are in sharp contrast to those of the opposition parties, which have all promised tax cuts in various degrees.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2025

LDP pledges cash handouts and a better economy ahead of Upper House vote

“Driving Japan forward, enriching lives” will be the ruling party’s campaign slogan as it prepares for the upcoming Upper House election.
Mourners attend a funeral for those killed in Israeli strikes, in Qazvin, Iran, on Thursday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy

The role of the United States remains uncertain. The White House said on Thursday President Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
Taichi Kokubun has accepted the decision to leave "The Tetsuwan Dash."
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Pop group Tokio's Kokubun to leave Nippon TV program over compliance violations

Nippon TV President Hiroyuki Fukuda refrained from mentioning specifics about Taichi Kokubun's problematic acts in a news conference out of concern for "privacy protection."
By pioneering stem cell therapies, Japan is not only treating disease but also seeking to rejuvenate a nation grappling with aging and decline.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025

Japan is helping lead the way in regenerative medicine

In pristine labs across Japan, scientists are tinkering with the architecture of regeneration.
Kaori Sakamoto earned the silver medal at the world championships in Boston on March 28. Sakamoto is a three-time world champion.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jun 20, 2025

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto to retire after 2026 Winter Olympics

Sakamoto, who won bronze at the 2022 Winter Olympics, missed out on a fourth straight world title in March when she finished runner-up to American Alysa Liu.
A helicopter takes off from China's Shandong aircraft carrier in waters south of Okinawa Prefecture in April 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025

Chinese aircraft carriers conducted over 1,000 sorties during Pacific training

Japan says the takeoffs and landings highlight the Chinese Navy’s growing ability to operate in distant seas and airspace.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa has said that his U.S. counterparts are open to an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries that are making an effort toward a deal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2025

Japan hopes good-faith negotiations will buy it some time in U.S. tariff talks

U.S negotiators have said that the July 9 deadline is flexible and that extensions might be granted.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks to reporters last month in Kobe.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2025

Hyogo governor referred to prosecutors over alleged vote-buying

The move follows a criminal complaint that was filed last December over alleged payments to a public relations company for campaign activities.
Turn your old rice into a simple, delicious meal by cooking it with other ingredients.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jun 22, 2025

One way to bring back the mojo in ‘old old old rice’

Go against the grain by turning stockpiled or “komai” rice into a delicious meal — the trick is to mix it with other ingredients.
Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil speaks to reporters after being released from immigration custody in Jena, Louisiana, on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 21, 2025

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil walks free after U.S. judge orders release

President Donald Trump has called protests against Israel's Gaza war antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. Khalil became the first target of this policy.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on March 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Japan scraps ‘two-plus-two’ meeting with U.S. over defense spending demand, report says

The talks’ cancellation reportedly came after the U.S. asked Japan to hike its defense budget to 3.5% of gross domestic product.
A White House official said the United States is  "just laying the groundwork" for possibly revoking authorizations granted in recent years to global chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC to receive U.S. goods and technology at their plants in China, in case the trade truce reached between the two countries falls apart.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 21, 2025

U.S. may target Samsung, Hynix and TSMC operations in China

Revoking authorizations to receive U.S. goods and tech would make it difficult for foreign chipmakers to operate in China.
Iranians step on the flags of Israel and the U.S. during an anti-Israeli rally in Tehran on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Hundreds of U.S. citizens left Iran in last week, State Department cable says

While many left without problem, "numerous" citizens had faced "delays and harassment" while trying to exit, the cable said.
Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said the Voice of America staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda to cut staffing at the agency and Voice of America to a statutory minimum.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2025

Voice of America parent terminates over 600 more staff in likely death knell

The move likely marks an end to the broadcasting network that was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps off the plane upon his arrival at OFranjo Tudjmano airport in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Modi's ambitious water plan fails to quench India's thirst

On paper, the water initiative is a success. But unconnected water tanks and broken taps point to a very different reality on the ground.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance (second left) speaks during a tour of a Federal Mobile Command Center at the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday.
WORLD
Jun 21, 2025

Vance, in LA, lambasts Newsom and says troops need to stay

The U.S. vice president accused Democratic state and city leaders of encouraging immigrants to cross the U.S. border illegally.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past